The fulltiming adventure begins

[Sugarfoot]

Terry and Marie, keep us posted. I'm going to miss hearing about your fulltime adventures. Bertha was a great coach. She had a mission and I guess she's completed it. She leaves her post with dignity. I'm proud that I got to meet her last year, and and especially proud that I got to meet you two.

At some point I'll have to make my way out to the West Coast and meet Sophie. In the mean time, give her a biscuit for me.

[Phil/Edee]

We need InPut!!! What's up??? Miss the communication!!

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Phil/Edee

We need InPut!!! What's up??? Miss the communication!!

Right now we're searching for a place to live, and I have a couple of leads on a replacement for Bertha. The first coach I found was something special. It was a 1979 Argosy 27 trailer rear SHOWER, built in CALIFORNIA. I checked the serial number, and verified this. It's too bad the PO tried to use it to knock down tree stumps, and painted the exterior with a roller, as well as removing the shower stall. It's a pretty rare trailer, but rarity does not always equal value. I offered the guy $200 for it, and am hoping he doesn't take me up on it...
Choice number 2 shows more promise, it is a 1975-1976 Tradewind, center double. I has had the paint stripped, the non-functional air conditioner removed, and the interior dismantled. It will have to be polished or painted, and the interior reassembled. The frame and interior and exterior skins are very good, as well as the floor. I'll let y'all know how that one turns out if and when the deal is finalized or turned down.

We had found an apartment to live in, but with all the newly homeless people in our area (wildfire refugees) trying to get homes and apartments, we may be forced to wait a while before moving into a "real" place.
We can remain in Bertha, we're not going anywhere, but I'm sure everyone knows I chafe at sitting around with a trailer that isn't roadworthy. The floor flexes, creaks and groans when we walk over the bad area, and the frame makes popping noises if you wiggle just right. I've found increasing piles of rust under the trailer, and the belly pan has finished falling on the ground. I have a pair of jackstands shoring things up, but it's still weird walking around inside. The floor cants upward and to the streetside at the front of the trailer, and straightens out about midships, about at the center bulkhead between the galley and bedroom.
If we have to move Bertha anywhere, I'll probably have to weld something together to keep everything from falling on the ground.

Whatever we do, unless we dismantle and repair Bertha, there will be a new thread about the new project. Stay tuned, y'all never know where we'll drag you to next.

[overlander63]

Rental prices have finally dropped to the point we are able to pay for a small apartment, so we have vacated (evacuated?) Bertha, and spent the entire weekend moving into the new-to-us apartment. It took no less than 3 trips with the truck and van to empty Bertha, and there is "stuff" sitting everywhere. If anyone thinks there is not much storage in an Airstream, I'll be happy to show pictures of the jam-packed apartment. And the apartment is [I]not[I] that small.
Sophie has discovered the bed is a lot softer than the floor, or even the gaucho, we are having trouble getting her out of it.
Of course, in the grand tradition of my family, it rained heavily all weekend, so we had to empty Bertha (in the rain), drive to the locations we had the furniture squirreled away (in the rain), fill the apartment (in the rain),get supplies from the store (in the rain)get the cable and internet hooked up (in the rain). Maybe next time there is a drought, the affected area could pay us to move there. I can see a future career in this.
As soon as we find the camera, I'll post a couple of pictures of the new, hopefully-not-too-mobile home.
As for Bertha, eventually a decision will have to be made whether to do a shell-off, with a new (or slightly used) frame, or hold the trailer as a parts source for a future Airstream. If we go the full monte route, it will almost certainly cost more than buying a comparable 29'-32' trailer in good shape structurally. While we've grown attached, the reality probably is there will be a replacement Airstream in our future. It will probably be vintage, unless someone makes us a screamin' deal on a 1997-2003 model.
So, our fulltiming adventure has ended, one year, four months, and seven days after beginning to live in the trailer, and one year, nine months after making the decision to fulltime. It's been interesting, mostly enjoyable, sometimes horrifying, occasionally funny, and we have made many new friends we never would have made had we not begun our adventure. Would we do it again? Yes, though probably with a newer coach. Many things we had to repair or replace were because of the age of Bertha when we got her, and some things were unique to the particular vintage of the trailer. All-in-all, it has been a good experience, though I would rather the circumstances surrounding our decision to fulltime had been different.
So while this adventure may have ended, there will be other adventures, even better than this one, to share with you. See you down the road.

[wkerfoot]

Terry and Marie,

I am so glad that you have found a more permanent home for Sophie. Keep in touch.

Bill

[eikel1we]

Best wishes for lots of " California Dreamin' " and for many more years of smooth adventures.

sue

[sd90mac]

Hi,

2 Things,

1. Who put all of that ---- in the coach? Don't anyone ever complain to me about the storage abilities in an airstream. You can pack a lot of stuff in them!!!

2. I couldn't help it, but when I pulled out with the last load I started balling like a baby! I will so miss Bertha, but new challenges are in our future.

Stay tuned for further adventures of Terry, Marie and Sophie. ( speaking of Sophie, she has all of her toys on the couch, with her pillow and blanket sleeping. Dogs spoiled!!!)

Marie

[Sugarfoot]

Sounds like a circus act, "How much stuff can you get in an Airstream".

It's good to hear from you. I'm glad you three have found a spot to land until Bertha or another Airstream can make you mobile again. Marie, I can understand your attachment to Bertha. I would feel the same.

Give Sophie a biscuit from me.

Take care.

[Chuck]

Good to hear from you both; we've been wonderin' where you've been.

I'm thankful that you have shown us that when the goin' gets tough...well, there are ways around it. Especially now that I've just become a statistic myself, I might be headed down that same path.

[sd90mac]

Originally Posted by Chuck

Good to hear from you both; we've been wonderin' where you've been.

I'm thankful that you have shown us that when the goin' gets tough...well, there are ways around it. Especially now that I've just become a statistic myself, I might be headed down that same path.

There are always ways to "get around" stuff. In the last 2 years, we have become very adapt at discovering new ways to do things. It doesn't help to sit around and bemoan your circumstances, at least for us. We have and will continue to pick ourselves up, dust us off and get on with it.

Chuck, and others, hang in there and don't give up. Make it work for you in the future. No matter what "it" is.

Marie

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Sugarfoot

Sounds like a circus act, "How much stuff can you get in an Airstream".

At times it has seemed almost like a 3-ring circus, with yours truly the ringmaster...

Originally Posted by Chuck

Especially now that I've just become a statistic myself, I might be headed down that same path.

Accident, or downsized?

[overlander63]

As promised, a photo of Sophie in her (our?) new home:

[Chuck]

downsized. actually..."outsourced" might be a better word. They can't stop having what I provide. Whether or not they can get it cheaper...well, lets just say that I can't wait 'till they get the first bill. And yeah, as crazy as that sounds, they made this decision without any actual numbers. Which can only mean that they're simply not going to be around for very much longer, anyway. c'es la vie.

[safari57]

Originally Posted by overlander63

As promised, a photo of Sophie in her (our?) new home:

Little did that puppy have any idea of just how good a life she was sliding into when she jumped into your truck. I still laugh when I think if that post about her initial greeting of you two.

You have been through an awful lot and shared a lot of your trials and tribulations but also the wins and the fact that you just don't let crap get in the way of making great lives for yourselves.

I've really enjoyed the ups, felt badly when we have learned of the downs, but just know that no matter what happens you guys will shrug it off like rain off a ducks back. Your attitudes and can-do attitudes are an inspiration for many of us.

Good luck with your next adventure.

Barry

[Gene]

I think you may feel more at home in your apartment by putting aluminum foil on the walls. It also repels space aliens, werewolves and creatures of the night.

Good luck with another step in life. And to Chuck, tough times and I hope things work for you in the future.

Gene

[overlander63]

Since Plan A never has a chance, we went directly to our backup plan.
After getting a severe attack of "sticker shock" on used Airstream prices here on the West coast, we took a long, hard, close look at Bertha, and what we would have to do to find a replacement. I've been puttering around in, under, and around Bertha since we moved into our apartment. I decided to start taking stuff apart, and seeing how much would have to be done to make Bertha roadworthy again. Since I felt we had nothing to lose, I started removing things, and opening the floor and belly pan for better inspection. What I found made my hair (or what's left of it) curl. The frame was really only held together by a thin piece of rusted metal at the top, everything else was rusted and cracked in half.
I've removed that part, and snapped a photo, anybody a fan of Swiss cheese?:

[Gene]

Those pictures are pretty scary, and they show the thing holds together pretty well because of the way they are built. And, the wheels didn't fall off!

Gene

[Aage]

Originally Posted by overlander63

Since I felt we had nothing to lose, I started removing things, and opening the floor and belly pan for better inspection. What I found made my hair (or what's left of it) curl. The frame was really only held together by a thin piece of rusted metal at the top, everything else was rusted and cracked in half.
I've removed that part, and snapped a photo, anybody a fan of Swiss cheese?:

Hmm. Sounds like a frame-off is called for. Do you know anywhere that you could get that work done...?

[Inland RV Center, In]

Originally Posted by Aage

Hmm. Sounds like a frame-off is called for. Do you know anywhere that you could get that work done...?

Terry does know of a good shop.

He works for one.

It happens to be us.

Andy

[soldiermedic]

Terry,

I love Swiss cheese.

Steve